What do the youth find motivational about basketball posters?

Sports. It is the one activity that has many sides. People are encouraged to participate in sporting activities so as to stay healthy. At the same time, competitive sports is Big Business, and that's big with a capital B. Basketball, unlike a number of other sports is one that young people can directly relate to as a result of the youthful vigor of many of its top stars. You only need visit the rooms of teenagers or of undergrads on campus and if they happen to be sports fans, you're likely going to find some basketball posters there. What do these young people find motivational about these posters? Is it the stars, the game or just the sheer fun of having one or two posters featuring great NBA stars? Or is our celebrity-crazy culture responsible? Does the faith young people put in sports stars and basketball players help them find inspiration and motivation?

From a psychological point of view, most young people need someone to look up to. Basketball stars fill this need by serving as role models, providing the much needed motivational impetus on young people. It is no wonder that when a scandal breaks out concerning a basketball star, a number of young people who had chosen to identify with this star either by buying a particular pair of basketball shoes because of an advert in which the star was featured or purchasing posters and other art works featuring the star, often feel distraught.

It is generally accepted that the visual media has the power of motivating, stimulating and affirming core values and beliefs and this can directly be related to the motivational instincts displayed by those who utilize such media as posters of their favorite basketball stars. There could be two sides to this: (1) either the youth draws inspiration from the star simply because of what he or she has achieved or (2) the youth aspires to be like the star someday and possibly in the same field of endeavor.

When I was in college, top basketball players on campus quite often had giant-sized posters of the then top NBA players. While they may simply have considered themselves to be fans of these players, the very presence of visual representations motivated, stimulated and inspired these college basketball players in their aspirations of rising to the top of the game. That the motivational nature of these posters was evident is not in doubt, though there were no studies which correlated having such visual aids and an increased performance in the sport.

Parents, teachers and guardians should continue to provide room for young people to explore the world around them, permitting them to search for niches in which they would like to build their careers. If young people desire basketball posters for the fact that they look up the stars featured in them, they should not be discouraged from having such posters in their rooms. Rather, they should be encouraged for there may truly be something positively motivational which young people derive from these posters that the older generation simply cannot fully comprehend.

Please feel free to view our feature on motivational posters.

Oliver John 

Posters-ArtPrints-PictureFrames.com

October 2004